UK gov’t sets out strategy to boost offshore oil & gas recovery

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on Wednesday set out a strategy to maximize the economic recovery of offshore oil and gas in the UK.

According to the department, the legally-binding strategy aims to get more value from areas like the North Sea through better collaboration between companies, and improved cost-efficiency. It also ensures that the companies operating in the UK Continental Shelf are those most capable of recovering the maximum amount of oil and gas.

Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom said: “The oil and gas industry is essential to our plans to provide secure, reliable energy to UK homes and we are committed to backing it.

“There are still plenty of opportunities in the UK Continental Shelf, and the measures set out in this strategy will help us get the most out of it and continue to compete globally.”

The strategy is now out for consultation and a final version will be laid before Parliament in early 2016. The consultation will run until January 8, 2016.

As the Energy Bill passes through the House of Commons it may be necessary to make some changes to the strategy, DECC said.

The strategy, once in force, would be binding on holders of offshore petroleum licences; operators appointed under those licences; operators of upstream petroleum infrastructure; and persons planning and carrying out the commissioning of upstream petroleum infrastructure.

According to the DECC’s strategy set out today, central obligation is that relevant persons must, in the exercise of their relevant functions, take all steps necessary to secure that the maximum value of economically recoverable petroleum is recovered from the strata beneath relevant UK waters.

Among other things, the strategy also states that, in order to maximize the economic recovery of oil and gas, the owners and operators of infrastructure must ensure that it is maintained in such a condition and operated in such a manner that it will achieve optimum levels of performance, including production efficiency and cost efficiency, for the expected duration of production, taking into consideration the stage of field and asset development, technology and geological constraints.

Image: DECC